What you should know about SC’s Halloween curfew for many sex offenders

Many South Carolina sex offenders are being required to stay inside their own homes during prime trick-or-treating hours on Halloween night.

The S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services has set a 5:30-9 p.m. curfew for all offenders under its supervision for a sex offense.

This curfew only applies to sex offenders who are currently on probation or parole. Many registered sex offenders are not on probation or parole and are not under the jurisdiction of SCDPPPS; therefore, the curfew does not apply to them.

In addition to the curfew, the state has set these rules for sex offenders on probation or parole:

▪ No lights on outside their homes.

▪ No candy distribution.

▪ No participating in Halloween parties or carnivals.

Some counties will require offenders to go to a central location.

The curfew will be enforced by SCDPPPS agent surveillance.

The agency says families should not be “overly alarmed.” “It is perfectly OK to allow your child to trick-or-treat under supervision,” it said in a news release this week.

Last Halloween, agents checked in at 417 offenders’ homes and made 320 landline phone checks, according to SCDPPPS. Nearly 200 supervised offenders were required to go to centralized locations for curfew.

No supervised sex offenders were arrested last Halloween, but four were cited for violating directives, SCDPPPS said.

You can check the State Law Enforcement Division registry for sex offenders in your area here.

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 9:06 AM with the headline "What you should know about SC’s Halloween curfew for many sex offenders."